OP makes another great financial move = just got a boat - Page 1

Site Notices

TNVC Partners With Envision Technology - MARS Rangefinder Family, MARS-Lc!

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - OP makes another great financial move = just got a boat

Posted: 5/17/2017 3:04:22 PM EDT

And it is an old 17'Mako center console with a 115 Mercury. The motor has about 200 hours on a rebuild, starts and idled clean, sounds like a barrel of wasps on steroids. No worry there. The trailer is ok and I'm confidant I can get it fixed to perfection.

I want to go around the boat and fill the dozen empty screw holes. Also, it has a few small spider cracks and chips of gel coat missing.

What brand/technique would you recommend for this good old Florida boat? I have never worked on fiberglass before. I don't see any matting, everything looks to be very small. Tons of boat places around, but I'm assuming they will tell me that the brand the happen to carry is the best......

I know the cheap sob's would get a tube of silicone caulk and call it a day, but that ain't me. Once it is looking great, I plan on priming/painting the whole boat as well.

Help.

Posted: 5/17/2017 3:18:16 PM EDT

[#1]

I was going to buy a small aluminum boat to put around on a few years ago. "Buddy" of mine talked me a ski boat he had. Bought it, dumped cash into it (interior, bimini, new seats, carpet, glass, new subfloor, etc.) and find out it doesn't fucking run. My own fault for not checking out the motor in depth but it started fine the day I went to look at it.
TLDR, I need a new boat.
Thread hijack level: expert. Apologies OP, that just brought some shit up I haven't thought about in a while.

https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/DIY-Gelcoat-Repairs

Posted: 5/17/2017 3:34:15 PM EDT

[#2]

Used boat is always a good investment. I see plenty of $$ changing hands in your future.

Posted: 5/17/2017 4:46:52 PM EDT

[#3]

Cowboy fiber glasser here. Few hundred square feet of structural glass work. All on one boat.

Colloidal sand or wood flour. Not saw dust, wood flour. Must come from a sander, not a saw blade. Duck works sells small amounts.

Mix this with epoxy resin as a thickening agent and fill the holes. I would sand before applying the paste and gel coat after. The gel coat usually has a Surface hardener added to promote proper curing.

The cracks could indicate the boat was in a collision. I know of a famous person that had a boat hit and had cracks on the opposite side of the collision(12 ft wide boat). Insurance paid for a complete rebuild of the boat. An inspection may be worth the trouble. Fiber glass is strong and brittle in the wrong directions.

Posted: 5/18/2017 2:45:41 PM EDT

[#4]

B ust
O ut
A nother
T housand

Posted: 6/11/2017 12:02:57 AM EDT

[#5]

Looks like the maiden voyage happens tomorrow. I have the trailer almost done (done enough for a quick trip) so I want to see if it floats and will get on plane before I spend more time/money on it......pics to follow - success or failure......

Posted: 6/11/2017 12:52:56 AM EDT

[#6]

West System Epoxy. Use their additives. buy their book for $5 at West Marine and check youtube for videos. West System and West Marine are not connected. Buy with confidence.

https://youtu.be/kHuztg446Qs

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/search_subCategory.do?categoryName=Epoxy%20Resin&category=589&refine=1&page=GRID

Jamestown Distributors are great to deal with. I use a lot of their own brand products. Epoxy, paint, primer, fairing compound, varnish, it's all excellent stuff with great CS.

Posted: 6/11/2017 2:58:28 PM EDT

[#7]

Boat scoots along nicely with the 115 Tower of Power on it! The ramps were way too crowded for a photo session, but I snapped a quick one after I filled it up with straight gas.

Very happy with it and am looking forward to getting it looking sharp.

Posted: 6/17/2017 1:55:33 PM EDT

[#8]

Kickass little CC.

Boats are funny. I've on $1,000 pontoons and $1,000,000 MTI cats and they're all fun.

Surr, someone will comment about a boat owner's two best days blah blah blah. But he's a boat owner. A died in the wool boater doesn't care.

And where else can you get away with driving around drunk and naked after dark with no lights?

Posted: 6/17/2017 2:02:11 PM EDT

[#9]

This is the best day of your life....

Until you sale the boat, then that will be the best day of your life.

Boat owner here,, actually 3 boats

Posted: 6/17/2017 2:05:10 PM EDT

[#10]

Quote History

Quoted:
B ust
O ut
A nother
T housand

View Quote

Yep. Not even 2 hours on mine and I am busting out about 1500. FML. It looks and runs great...it just won't start anymore.
Good luck OP.

Posted: 6/17/2017 2:23:16 PM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
This is the best day of your life....

Until you sale the boat, then that will be the best day of your life.

Boat owner here,, actually 3 boats

View Quote

Yup, I've owned them before. So far so good.

Still working on the body work.

Posted: 6/19/2017 10:18:44 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:
Kickass little CC.

Boats are funny. I've on $1,000 pontoons and $1,000,000 MTI cats and they're all fun.

Surr, someone will comment about a boat owner's two best days blah blah blah. But he's a boat owner. A died in the wool boater doesn't care.

And where else can you get away with driving around drunk and naked after dark with no lights?

View Quote

In the desert.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - OP makes another great financial move = just got a boat

General » Do It Yourself

Win a FREE Membership!

Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!

You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.

Warning

Confirm Action

About AR15.COM

Stay Connected

Newsletter

Contact Us